Polar Opposites
by mcgirl
Summary: Why did Ainsley leave Washington D.C. This explais it but is fourteen years later.
1. Meeting Josh

Disclaimer: I do not own the West Wing or any of its characters. They belong to NBC. I do however own my characters that I created.

Summary: This is an AU story. Why did Ainsley leave so abruptly? This is my explanation for it.

June 2015

Alison Hayes looked out the window and saw the rain pouring down. They had just buried her mother a few weeks ago and now her father was coming down to meet her and take her to Connecticut. She had never met her father; her father did not even know that she existed until a few weeks ago. She wanted to stay in Raleigh or at least in North Carolina, she had never been to New England in her life or past Virginia for that matter.

They had done a test and it proved that he was her father but she also looked almost exactly like him. "Hey Alison what are you doing looking out here" her aunt said to her. "I don't want to go, isn't there something that you can do. We can probably think of something because we have a few lawyers in our family. There has to be some legal maneuvering that we can think of" she said. "I'm sorry honey; there is nothing that we can do. The Judge would side with your father, plus it was the last thing that your mother wanted."

"What if he does not like me; he already has a wife and daughter, he doesn't need another one." "How can you say that, people have always gravitated to you if you let them get past the barriers that you put up. I know that you do not want to go up there but you can call us anytime that you want day or night." "I know that, I just miss mom so much and I will miss you to" Alison said.

They heard a knock o the door and Alison said with no emotion "that must be Josh." She left her aunt and opened the door to let her father in. "Hello, you must be Alison," he said. "Yes" she said not even offering to shake Josh's hand. Alison's aunt glared at her and said "you must be Governor Lyman, I'm Sarah Hayes, Alison's aunt. My husband and our son will be back soon." "Please call me Josh, I hate having a title like that and all the formalities that go with it."

They heard the door open and two men came in soaking wet. "Didn't you guys bring an umbrella with you" Alison said. "We forgot plus it wasn't raining when we left" Will said smiling. Alison had to smile as well, she was really going to miss him. He was the big brother that she had never had. "This is my son Will and my husband Robert. This is Josh Lyman. "I figured as much" Will said staring at him. "William Robert Hayes and Alison Elizabeth Hayes, the two of you are coming with me. "What did I do," Alison said. Her aunt just glared at her and she knew that look and she knew that she better do what her aunt said and they followed her out of the room.

"It is nice to meet you Josh. Will and Alison are usually not like this. This has just been hard for Alison, she has been through a lot in her life and Will is the older brother that she never had. He is very protective of her and does not like this at all, neither of them do." "I wish that we could of met under better circumstances then this." "Give Alison time, she really can be nice though she does not show it sometimes. She is protecting herself from being hurt and she has been hurt far to many times."


	2. Dinner and Old Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own the West Wing or any of its characters. They belong to NBC. I do however own my characters that I created.

Summary: This is an AU story. Why did Ainsley leave so abruptly? This is my explanation for it.

June 2015

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, why don't we go to the living room" Sarah said. After they sat down it was very quiet, finally Sarah said "How was your trip down here?" "It was good, there was not that much traffic coming down here." "That is good, Alison and Will come help me fix dinner. What would you like to drink Josh, we have ice tea, water, orange juice, beer, and wine." "I'll have tea," he said. Everyone else also had tea. "We are having country ham, corn, and rolls. I know this is most likely not a dinner from Connecticut, but we like it. I hope you like it to." Sarah said.

"They sat down and started eating their dinner. Suddenly Josh spoke up and said "this is good are you the only one that cooked this or did someone else help you. "No, no one else helped me but I liked doing it," she said. "Mom said Alison and I are inept at cooking. We don't cook that much Alison could probably burn the house down if she did" Will said. Right after he said that he realized his mistake, fire was one thing that he should not talk about especially around Alison who thought that it was her fault. He looked at Alison and looked at her eyes and saw the hurt in those eyes that he had seen far too many times in her eyes.

Robert knew that someone needed to change the topic quickly. "You know that Alison is going to be in high school and is taking all AP classes, at least she was taking them here" Robert said. "Yes, I have taken the SAT to and made a 1600 the first time I took it and have decided that I am going to be valedictorian in High School. Will said that I am a freaking genius." "You are a genius, you have never made below an A- in your life. Some people get upset when they make a C or below, but you get upset when you make an A-. You were the first person in North Carolina to make a 1600 when you took it in middle school." "I was asked to and I cannot refuse a free SAT test. You are just jealous because you only made a 1450 when you were a junior and I made it a month after Christmas break." "You know though that I will be a senior in high school and you will just be a freshman." If there was one thing that Alison liked talking about it was her accomplishments in life. She was a lot like Josh in that way and in other ways as well, some good, and some bad. This made her eyes light up back again.

Josh looked at her and still wondered about the comment of burning the house down. She looked very upset when he said that and he could not help but wonder if something happened. He hoped not, he did not want anything like that to happen to his worst enemy and he had started to love her all ready, just like he did Joanie.

"When are you leaving tomorrow" Sarah said. "I do not know, we have to pack all of Alison's stuff but we have to get back soon." "Alison has a lot of stuff, it could take a whole day to put her things in the trailer," Will said. Alison kicked him and he said "what did you do that for?" "I do not have too much stuff; I just have the necessities that I will need." You have more stuff in those boxes then I have in my room, and half those things weigh a ton. You never believed in going anywhere light though, even when you were little." "Well I am not going to visit them William. I am going to live with them. They were silent for awhile and then they smiled each other. "I really am going to miss you," Alison said, "me too" Will said.


	3. Car Ride

Kursk: You will find out in later chapters about why Alison does not like fire. Alison has had a life very similar to Josh's both good and in some cases particularly bad but she never had a sister or brother besides her father's daughter her half-sister Joanie.

They were all packed up and almost ready to go to Connecticut, all Alison had left to do was say goodbye. Alison hugged her family and she did not want to go. She wanted to stay in her families arms forever but knew that she could not. She gave everyone one last hug and went to Josh's car. She was determined not to cry, she could not cry in front of Josh or anyone else for that matter. Crying was for people that were weak and she was not weak.

They got in the car and headed for Connecticut. "You know it is alright to cry if you want to" Josh said. "Why would I cry Josh, there is nothing to cry about" Alison said angrily. She hated this, she wanted to go home but she was not going home she was going to Connecticut. "You know Connecticut is not that bad of a place to live," Josh said. "That's easy for you to say, you have lived there for the majority of your life," Alison said. "I am a southern girl, born ad raised in the south. I have never been past Virginia and hate cold weather, plus I do not have the clothes" Alison said. "Well, we can get you new clothes to wear in the winter," Josh said.

The car was silent for a minute and then Josh finally spoke. "Alison I hardly know anything about, why don't you tell me some things about you," he said. "Like what" she said annoyed. "Anything, your favorite color, what you like to do, do you play any sports?" "I used to play soccer and was in diving and swimming. My coach said that I could one day go to the Olympics in both diving and swimming, but I quit," she said. "Why did you quit if you enjoyed it, he said. "Things happened in my life that I could not control and I just was not as good at it as I used to be" she said.

"What happened in your life that made you quit doing these things," Josh said. "I almost died Josh, that changes a person's perspective on life and you were not there," Alison said. She realized her mistake after she said it but if he asked about it she was not necessarily going to tell him the whole truth because the truth was none of his business. She knew that he would probably understand better then most people, better then the psychiatrists that said that they knew how she felt and that the reason she felt like that was because she had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Josh looked up concerned and said "what happened?" "I was in a car accident, but wasn't in the hospital long. I just don't like talking about these things," she said quickly, too quickly for Josh but he let it drop for now. "If you ever want to talk about it, you can talk to me because I almost died one time as well and I might understand how you fell" he said. After she said that she thought if short means that I stayed in the hospital for a few months and basically missed an entire year of school but she did not say it out loud because she did not trust him yet.

They talked for the majority of the car ride off and on trying to get to know each other. Alison was not really paying attention because all she heard were the songs of the sirens and the screams of that fateful spring day in her head. She just wanted the sirens to stop she just wanted to be like she was before. Her psychiatrist said "we get better" but she often wondered if she would ever be the same again but the answer to that question was no, she had not been the same since.

Concluding Info: In a few chapters you will later find out what happened that day and it was not a car wreck. The next chapter has Donna and Joanie in it. Please read and review.


	4. New Home

Josh pulled up the driveway and stopped the car at the governor's mansion around 1:00 a.m.. He turned and saw that Allison was asleep. He didn't want to wake her up but knew that she would sleep better in a bed. "Allison we are here" Josh said. "What, where are we," she said not opening her eyes. "We are home, you can go to sleep in your room. She grabbed her bag that had things she needed in it and followed Josh up to the mansion that would be her new home. He opened the door quietly and showed her where her new room was. "This is where you are going to sleep," he said turning on the light. "Thanks, I'm really tired. I just want to go to bed" she said. "Sure, I'll see you in the morning," Josh said closing the door.

It was a nice bedroom, bigger then her bedroom at her old house. She was tired though and wanted to fall asleep. She changed into a t-shirt and shorts to go to sleep in. She climbed in bed and almost immediately went to sleep.

Josh went into his bedroom silently trying not to wake Donna up. "How was your trip" Donna said. "It was good, sorry I woke you up," he said. "You didn't wake me up," Donna said. "I'm really tired, can we talk tomorrow. Are you and Joanie going to church tomorrow," he said. "Yes, we will let the two of you sleep though," Donna said. "That is good" Josh said as he laid down and also went to sleep fast.

11:00 a.m.

Josh was sitting at the kitchen table when he saw a door open. "Good to see that you are up" Josh said. "Yea, well we got in at a very late hour," Allison said. "Anyway when do we start unpacking," she said. "We can start right now if you want, you sure have a lot of stuff that needs to be unpacked." "I am moving up here for the next four years, I have to bring all my stuff. I am a very organized person so I know where everything is." They headed to the u-haul to start unpacking.

12:30

They only had a few more boxes left when they saw a car coming up the driveway. "Who is that" Allison asked. "That is Donna and Joanie coming back from church, lets take a break for lunch and you can meet Donna and Joanie." They got out of the car and came to see Allison and Josh. "You must be Allison" Donna said smiling about to hug her but Allison put forth her hand. "That is me, nice to meet you Donna and you must be Joanie, am I right" Allison said in her sweet southern accent. "Yes, it is nice to meet you Allison" Joanie said. "Well, are the three of you hungry I am, lets get something to eat" Josh said heading inside. "Yea," Allison said not feeling to good but not wanting to show it. Her right hand was starting to hurt which was caused by the event that she almost died in but she could not tell them yet.

"What is it that you have to eat" Allison said after heading inside. "We have peanut butter, turkey, ham, and white and wheat bread. We could probably find something else for lunch if you do not like that" Donna said. "No, that is fine. I will probably have a peanut butter sandwich, where is the stuff?" The silverware is in there, cups up there, and plates in there" Josh said. "Where are the paper towels," Joanie said. "Over there, but the napkins are on the counter" Donna said.

She went and got a paper towel and got ready to make a sandwich. She really did not trust herself with a breakable plate right now. She got the stuff and made her peanut butter sandwich with her left hand. "Are you left handed" Donna said. "No, but I think I might have strained my right hand lifting some of those boxes and it hurts a little but I am alright, I have learned to use my left hand" she said. "Go sit down, I'll make your sandwich," Josh said. "You don't know how I like to fix my peanut butter sandwich, "I'm very particular about my sandwiches" she said resuming fixing her sandwich smoothing the creamy peanut butter out so it was almost even.

"Where do you want me to sit" she said "Across from Joanie," Josh said. She sat across Joanie and was about to start eating. "Let me at least get you some Advil," Donna said. "Alright but I am really fine. I do not want to bother you or anything," she said. "You are not bothering us," Josh said. Donna gave her some Advil and everyone finally sat down. "Why didn't you start eating because lunch is generally informal" Donna said. "I wanted to wait for everyone," she said. It was going to be a long first day but she was here to stay for the next four years.

Concluding: This is the last of this story most likely; I might right a sequel though.


	5. Pills and other secrets

A Week Later

Alison and Joanie were outside. Alison was reading a political book about the Republican Party and Joanie was playing soccer. In the house Donna was putting up laundry. She was putting Alison's clothes up when she saw four pill bottles. She recognized some of the medicines that Alison had. There was one bottle of pills for anxiety and depression, sleep medication, pills for pain, and a bottle to keep blood pressure down as well as an inhaler. She wondered why a fourteen year old would be taking all of this medicine, particularly the blood pressure medicine. She needed to talk to Josh and then they would talk to Alison. She decided they would talk tonight since Joanie was going over to a friend's house.

Josh's Office

"Governor Lyman, your wife is on the phone" his secretary said. "Alright" he said picking up the phone. "Hey Donna I was about to call you" Josh said. "I need to talk to you about something when you get home" she said. "Is everything alright" Josh said concerned. "I don't know but we need to talk to Alison tonight since Joanie is not going to be here," Donna said seriously. "Do I need to come home right now" he said. "No, I don't think so. I don't want Alison to be suspicious of anything. I've got to go the girls are coming in" Donna said. "I'll talk to you later then, love you" Josh said hanging up the phone worried about what was wrong with Joanie.

6:00

Josh pulled into the driveway and went into the house. He saw Alison sitting on the couch and said "where are Donna and Joanie." "Donna is taking Joanie to her friend's house to spend the night. She said we should order Pizza or something" she said right as Donna was walking in. "Hey can I talk to you Josh for a minute. Why don't you order a large pizza" Donna said. "Can it be a meat lover's pizza" Alison said. "Sure" Donna said walking out of the room followed by Josh.

"What is wrong" Josh said after the door was closed. "I found some things in Alison's room," Donna said. "What is it," Josh said concerned. I was putting her clothes up because she was outside and I found four drugs for anxiety and depression sleep medication, pills for pain, and a bottle to keep blood pressure down as well as an inhaler. She's hiding something from us Josh and we need to find out what it is for," Donna said. "She said on the way up here that she was in a car accident but she did not elaborate on it. What should we do then" Josh said. "I think we should tell her what we know and she fills in the blanks," Donna said. "I guess you are right, I don't want her to get hurt" Josh said.

"Alison we need to talk to you about something" Josh said. "Sure" Alison said sitting on the couch not looking at them. "I was putting up your clothes today and I found some things in your drawer," Donna said. "I can't believe you went through my stuff, spying on me. My mom always trusted me she was always up front with me" Alison said. "I found prescribed drugs, why are you taking these drugs," Donna said. "Why should I tell you? You weren't there when we needed you, you weren't there when I was dieing" Alison screamed looking directly at Josh. "I would have been there if I had known" Josh said. "No you would not, mom called you but you didn't come. My mom and aunt thought I was unconscious but I heard them. You were to busy with your perfect family with the white picket fence and dog when they were not sure if I was going to live or die. You wouldn't understand anyway" she said. "Try me" Josh said.

"Fine, when I was five I was in a fire that my cousin died in, when I was ten I was nearly killed in a school shooting. I was shot twice in the palmary artery and right lung, hurt like hell to. Then I was in a car accident that killed my mother but this time I only came out with scratches and the drunk driver was not hurt at all. My psychiatrist believed I had post traumatic stress disorder which I do not have. They were just trying to get my mother's money" she said still screaming. The doorbell rang and Josh went to go get it. Alison was giving Donna and Josh a death glare. He put the pizza on the table and went back into the living room.

"Why didn't you tell us" Josh said. "I don't talk about it to people I know that much about it so why would I tell it to a stranger that I just met. I have to trust people and I certainly don't trust any of you yet. I would probably eventually have told you but not yet. "Why don't you trust me, I am your father Alison," Josh said. "You left mom and you left me. You probably could have stopped mom if you really wanted to but you didn't. You didn't even ask her why she was leaving," Alison said. "Of course I asked your mother, I loved Ainsley and I knew that she loved me to. I would have done anything your mother told me to do. She told me she found a job in Raleigh and wanted to move back to where her family was and the White House was too liberal for her," he said.

"I'm hungry," Alison said going to get the pizza. "Are you sure that you can eat that because pizza is not the healthiest thing for a person. I know that Josh has to be careful what he eats" Donna said. "You are not my mother and never will be so stop pretending that you care," she said getting her pizza. "Alison Elizabeth Hayes do not talk to Donna like that. "I am going to eat pizza in my room, talk to you later," she said slamming her door. "Don't you dare walk away from me" Josh said. Josh went to the couch and not for the first time he wondered what he could do and Alison was in her room crying ignoring the pizza.


End file.
